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FUNERAL DISCOURSES 



ON THE DEATH OF 

MRS. HENRIETTA M. DAWSON, 

WIFE OF THE HON. WM. C. DAWSON, 

OF GEORGIA. 

WHO DIED AT WASHINGTON CITY, 

APRIL 7, 1850. 

1/ 



WASHINGTON: 
PRINTED BY JNO. T. TOWERS. 

18 50. 



A DISCOURSE 



DELIVERED IN 



GREENSBOROUGH, GEORGIA, 
ON THE DEATH OF 

MRS. HENRIETTA M. DAWSON, 

(wife of the HON. WM. C. DAWSON,) 

WHO DIED AT WASHINGTON CITY, 
APRIL 7, 1850. 

BY THE 

/ 

REV. FRANCIS BOWMAN, 

u 
PA^'I' OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

PRECEDED BY THE 

OBITUARY NOTICES OF HER DEATH, 

AND THE 

REMARKS OF THE REV. DR. TALMAGE, -■ 

AT HER INTERMENT, ON THE ELEVENTH OF APRIL, 1850, IN 
GREENSBOROUGH, GEORGIA. 




U. o. A. 



,d^- 



WASHINGTON: 
PRINTED BY JOHN T. TOWERS." 

''^ 1850. 



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Washington City, May, 1850. 

To My dear Children — Your request to have published 
for you the obituaries announcing the death of your dear 
mother — the remarks of the Rev. Dr. Talmage, at her inter- 
ment, on the 11th of April ; and the funeral discourse of the 
Rev. Mr. Bowman, with the short appendix of the Rev. Mr. 
Ballantine, of Washington City, shall be granted. Deeply 
do I partake in your sorrow and grief; in anguish of mind 
we must bear our loss ; all of us must, at the appointed time, 
follow your lamented mother. Her virtues and piety let us 
cherish, and, preciously, remember the beautiful proprieties of 
her character; faithfully, yea, sacredly did she discharge her 
duties to you and to me : Can we ever forget her ? You had 
not the privilege of being with her in her last hours, but she 
did not forget you — no, she never forgot the objects of her 
solicitude — her last affectionate messages to you have been 
communicated, her maternal advice, amiable admonitions, 
and judicious and sweet counsel, are deeply impressed on 
your memories and hearts. 

When your mother and myself bade you farewell, and left 
home for AVashington the last of November, she expected to 
return in the spring — she had indicated from the 10th to the 
15th of April. At that time you anxiously awaited, and joy- 
fully anticipated meeting her. The time came ; the sadness 
and woe of that day— the 10th of April— will be among the 
last impressions which shall be wiped from your memory. On 
that day you heard that your mother died, at Washington 
City, on the 7th of April, and that her corpse would arrive 
at home that night. 

A few minutes before she serenely and quietly left this 
world, in which we are now sharing its sorrows and woes, 
she said to me (with calmness, and an expression of counte- 



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nance showing her deep sympathy in my distress), "I prefer 
that my body should be carried home." She then, perfectly 
conscious of her end, bade Emma and myself farewell. In a 
few minutes our Heavenly Father called her spirit, I humbly 
hope and sincerely trust, to heaven ; and your father on 
earth performed the sorrowful and sacred duty of conveying 
home to her venerated mother, children, relatives and friends 
the corpse of your lovely mother, which was all that earth 
could claim. 

Your devoted father, 

WM. C. DAWSON. 



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OBITUARY NOTICES. 

At the United States Hotel, on Sunday morning, at 8| 
o'clock, Mrs. HENRIETTA M. DAWSON, wife of tlie 
Hon. Wm. C. Dawson, Senator from Georgia. 

Seldom has it been our lot to record the death of one 
whose loss will be more sincerely felt by all who had the 
pleasure and privilege of her acquaintance. 

If gentleness of character, and " a heart in which there 
was no guile" — if to " do justice, love mercy, and walk hum- 
bly," be the evidences of a Christian life, and a presage of 
" sweet rest beyond the grave," then we are fully conscious 
"our loss is her gain." 

" None knew her but to love her ; 
None named her but to praise." 

National Intelligencer^ April 8, 1850. 



[From " The Southern Presbyterian."] 

OBITUARY. 

Died, in Washington City, on Sabbath morning, the 7th 
of April, after a sickness of seven days, Mrs, Henrietta M. 
Dawson, aged 48 years, wife of the Hon. Wm. C. Dawson, 
U. S. Senator from Georgia. 

There have been so many unmeaning common-places, and 
indiscriminate and exaggerated eulogies, written on the dead, 
which the previous life did not justify, that the public has 
imbibed a distaste for obituary notices, and a distrust in their 
averments. There are, however, cases in which it would be 
unjust to the goodness and grace*of God, to refuse to hold 
up for imitation, and to embalm in the memory of survivors 



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6 

the character of departed Avorth. Such a case, pre-eminent- 
ly, was that of the excellent lady whose death we here record 
and mourn. In tracing her character and worth there is 
little danger of extravagance. 

Endowed with an intellect naturally strong, an exquisite 
sense of propriety, and an attractive sweetness of temper and 
manners, she was at once the charm and ornament of every 
circle in which she moved ; and all her endowments were 
hallowed and borrowed lustre from her sincere and ardent 
piety, and were consecrated to the service of God. There 
was about her an unaffected artlessness and simple dignity of 
manner which won the respect and esteem of all with whom 
she associated. 

Called by her station in society to mingle with the ho- 
nored and great of the land, she never lost the meekness and 
humility of the Christian character. She passed unscathed 
through the fiery ordeal of fashionable life, to which she was 
exposed, and always returned the same meek and gentle 
spirit as before. The worldly charms of the elevated social 
circle never weaned her heart from the consistency and pro- 
priety of that Christian walk which she adorned for twenty- 
five years. The house of God was a sweeter spot to her than 
the circles of the gay, and she was ever more ready to make 
sacrifices to attend the "assembly of the saints," than the 
gatherings of the great ones of this world. 

In the domestic circle her virtues shone most brightly. 
In her case I can readily credit the testimony of a bereaved 
and smitten mourner that, after a communion of thirty-two 
years in wedded life, he cannot recall the first unkind word 
that ever fell on his ear from her lips. As a mother, she 
was faithful and judicious, and manifested a mild firmness 
that always secured a prompt and cheerful obedience. The 
spiritual welfare of those she loved was the dearest object of 
her heart. Such mothers are among the choicest blessings 
Heaven ever loans to earth, and the most powerful agents 
for good to society. 

As she had lived an exemplary Christian life, so her death 
was that of the righteous. Calm, resigned, trusting in her 



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Saviour, leaving messages of affection for her kindred and 
friends, she sweetly breathed her last. Thus ong of earth's 
brightest jewels has been snatched away to sparkle in a bet- 
ter world. 

Her remains, at her own request, were conveyed from the 
National Capital to the home she had adorned and blessed, 
and were followed to their last resting place by a large con- 
course of mourning neighbors and friends. The business of 
the village was suspended to do»honor to her worth, and the 
stillness of the Sabbath reigned along its streets. 

Whilst her lifeless body awaited, in her loved home, the 
mournful funeral train that was to convey it to the land of 
silence, I strolled through the enclosures that surrounded 
that lately bright and cheerful abode of affection and hospi- 
tality. As my eye rested on the beautiful plants, and bow- 
ers, and shrubbery, and flowers which her own eye had 
watched, and her own hand had Nurtured, I thought of that 
better land where her spirit gazes on the pure and bright 
flowers of Paradise, and where she roams along the banks of 
the " river of life," and enjoys the celestial foliage and fra- 
grance of that " tree of life whose leaves are for the healing 
of the nations." I thought, how great are the rewards of 
grace ! To*be enabled by true repentance for sin, and faith 
in Christ, to mingle in the songs of the redeemed, in the so- 
ciety of all the pure, and good, and lovely of earth, Avhom 
God is gathering from all generations and nations, to dwell 
in his presence in his holy temple ! 

Thus has been gathered to the tomb all that was mortal of 
one of Georgia's brightest female ornaments. Death loves a 
shining mark, and seldom has he laid his cold, rude hand on 
a choicer victim. 

May the rising daughters of the land emulate her spirit, 
and in their turn, after her example, go forth to scatter 
cheerfulness, and light, and salvation around their dwelling 
places. ■'■• 



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REBIARKS 



OF THE 



EEV. DU. TALMAGE, 



ON THE 



INTERMENT OF MllS. DAWSON, 



"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.'' 



To the eye of sense and to the vision unenlightened by the 
Word and Spirit of God, there are many strange paradoxes to 
be met with on the sacred pages. " Blessed are the poor in 
spirit" — "blessed are they that mourn" — " blessed are they 
which are persecuted for righteousness sake" — "blessed are 
ye when men' shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all 
manner of evil against you fiilsely, for my sake." These 
beatitudes are pronounced by the lips of our blessed Saviour, 
in view of the moral evils in our world, and of the change in the 
views of the renewed hearts of the fallen sons and daughters 
of Adam, and their relations to a sinful race around them. 
The heart, sanctified by Divine grace, becomes " poor in 
spirit" and " mourns," because of the evil of sin. The life of 
the Christian often encounters opposition from the wicked, 
who are opposed to the ways of truth and holiness. But a 
broken heart is of great price in the sight of God; godly 
sorrow needs not to be repented of — and they whom God 
pronounces blessed, must be blessed indeed. 

So the passage I have quoted, pronounces death a blessing 
under certain circumstances, to those "who die in the Lord." 
At first view, death bears the forbidding aspect of an awful 
calamity ; and so it is in itself, for it is the accursed result of 



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sin ; but the Saviour has extracted from it its sting, and 
robbed the grave of its victory, in relation to every true 
saint. Death, in itself, has an ungainly aspect ; we in- 
stinctively recoil from its cold embrace. The fevered cheek, 
the hectic flush, the emaciated form, the trembling limbs, the 
dying agony, the lifeless corpse, the shroud, the coffin, the 
grave, have an appalling look. The voice of friendship 
hushed, the eye of affection glazed, the glowing features 
turned to marble, the hand that grasped us tenderly, relaxed 
and cold ; the vacant seat around the hearthstone left 
deserted ! These are the chilling ensigns of death. But, still, 
is it the Christian who dies ? Then to die is gain. "Blessed are 
the dead who die in the Lord." From the Christian's grave I 
seem to hear the language sweetly whispered, " Weep not for 
me, but weep for yourselves." From the dark, chill damps of 
the grave, I hear the Christian's Saviour saying, "I am the 
resurrection and the life ; he that believeth in me, though he 
were dead, yet shall he live again ; and he that liveth and 
believeth in me shall never die." And the voice from Heaven 
arrested the ear of the enraptured John, and commanded him 
to " write" it down, that it might never be forgotten by those 
who mourn and weep around the Christian's bier, " Blessed 
are the dead who die in the Lord." 

They who die in the Lord are delievered from, 
1st. All the physical ills of this life, and that for ever. 
Tiiis vale of tears is forever left behind, with all its accu- 
mulated load of sorrows, griefs and pains. In this world of 
sin and suffering, wherever we make our way among the 
abodes of men, sighs are heard, groans are uttered, tears are 
shed, sundered heart-strings bleed and quiver ; man comes 
into the world with a sigh and leaves it with a groan. But, 
of the upper and better world, towai'ds which every true saint 
is tending, Jehovah himself gives this description of the posi- 
tion of its joyous society: "And God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain, for the former things are passed away." " Then shall 
the rigliteous return and come to Zion with sonjxs and ever- 



11 

lasting joy upon their heads ; they shall find joy and gladness, 
and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes." Who would 
call the Christian back from such a scene ? 

2d. They are delivered from all the scenes of moral evil in 
others, which pain the hearts of Christians here. 

Jeremiah exclaims, " Oh, that my head were waters, and 
mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and 
night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Moses, 
under an overwhelming view of the infatuation and madness 
of the votaries of this world, breaks out in this strain: " Oh, 
that they were wise, that they understood this, that they 
would consider their latter end." And the Psalmist, " Rivers 
of water run down mine eyes, because men make void thy 
law." " I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved because 
they kept not thy statutes." 

No such scenes to molest the feelings or harrow the heart 
of the follower of Jesus in the upper world. 

3d. They cease from all sin and all temptation to sin 
forever. 

The best Christians are here sanctified but in part : cold- 
ness of heart, aversion to duty, heedless in the service of 
Christ, are states and feelings that often oppress and affect 
them. Paul himself exclaimed, " Oh, wretched man that I 
am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death." 

But, in heaven, all sinning will be done away ; there will 
be a full and perfect fruition of God to all eternity. 

" Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from hence- 
forth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their 
labors, and their works do follow them." 

The spirit of this passage was beautifully illustrated in the 
life and death of Mrs. Dawson, whose remains we are convey- 
ing to the tomb. 

In speaking of the dead, there is often danger of exaggera- 
tion; not so in the present case. 

Our departed Christian friend was eminently gifted by 
nature, by cultivation and by grace. 

Many years ago, she devoted herself to the Saviour by a 
public profession of religion, and her life has been a bright 



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illustration of Christian character. She was a lady of strong 
intellect, of admirable judgment, and of peculiar sweetness of 
disposition. Though called to move in the higher and most 
refined circles of society, she never seemed for a moment to 
forget what belonged to Christian deportment. There was a 
uniform evenness of temper and simple Christian dignity, 
which adorned her life, which could not pass unnoticed. The 
honors of the world did not lead her astray from duty, for she 
ever sought the honor that cometh from above. As a member 
of the social circle, and of the Church of Christ, her society 
was sought with avidity by the refined and the good, and she 
spread cheerfulness and pleasure wherever she moved. Amid 
the gay crowds of the National Capital, none saw her but to 
admire her exalted worth, and to behold how the true 
follower of the Saviour can pass unscathed through all the 
scenes where the Christian is called to walk. 

In the domestic circle, who but those favored with her daily 
presence, can sufficiently depict her pre-eminent worth ? 

In the capacities of wife, mother, daughter, sister, rarely 
is her equal to be found. 

This community and church have lost one of its brightest 
jewels, and the whole land has occasion to mourn, when a 
mother so pious, intelligent and exemplary, is called away 
from the responsible mission of training the rising generation 
to virtue and holiness. 

To the pastor of this church, who knew her better, I will 
leave the mournful, but pleasing task of pronouncing her 
worth. But, I must be permitted to say that when I first 
had the happiness to form her acquaintance twenty years 
ago, I was impressed with the belief that she was one of the 
choicest spirits and most elevated Christians I had ever met. 

A further acquaintance has but confirmed and increased 
my profound admiration of her worth. Seldom are we called 
upon to part with one so pure and lovely. But let the bitterly 
bereft mourners around this coffin assuage their grief at the 
reflection, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord; yea, 
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and 
their works do follow them." 



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She is eternally at rest. Her works leave a sweet savor 
to perfume her precious memory. May we all have grace to 
follow her as she followed Christ, that our deaths may be 
peaceful and calm as was hers, and that we may go to inherit 
those promises, whose possession, through grace, she has gone 
to reap. 



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A DISCOURSE, 



DELIVERED IN GREENSBOROUGH, GA., 

APRIL 14, 1850, 

AT THE FUNERAL OF MRS. DAWSON, 

BY THE REV. FRANCIS BOWMAN, 

Pastor of the Presht/terian Church at that place. 



I woLilil not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concernin;j; them which are 
asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we be- 
lieve that Jesus cUed and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. — 1 Thcss. iv. 13, 14. 

It is under the varying circumstances and trials of life, 
that we are brought to realize fully, and to estimate aright, 
some of the most important and precious truths of the Bible. 

We may receive them as matters of revelation ; they may 
constitute a part of our acquired knowledge; yet we may re- 
main in a great measure insensible to their import and power, 
until some event occurs to awaken a special interest in them. 
This event may be such as to produce a deep sense of our 
personal concern in them, or those that make us feel their im- 
portance in relation to some beloved friend. The miraculous 
powers of our Saviour were regarded by those among whom 
he ministered, with feelings, differing according to their dif- 
ferent conditions. By the whole, they were regarded with 
comparative indifference. But the sick, the palsied, the blind, 
the leprous, were in circumstances properly to appreciate them. 
The distressed father, whose little daughter was lying at the 
point of death, knew the value of that power that could re- 
store her. The favored disciples had witnessed many as- 
tonishing displays of it, yet they viewed it in a new light 



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15 

when, in that tempest-tost ship, thej felt their own dependence 
on it to save them. The pious sisters of Lazarus believed in 
his power to raise the dead, but it was invested with new in- 
terest when they saw it exerted to bring forth their departed 
brother from the grave. 

It is so now. The most deeply interesting truths of the 
Bible, those most adapted to fill the soul with strong consola- 
tion, and the most joyful hopes, are read, ordinarily, with a 
strange apathy. But in seasons of heavy affliction, or in the 
hour of death, their power and worth are realized. The 
Scriptures frequently speak of the efficacy of the Christian's 
faith in a crucified Saviour, to sustain him amid the greatest 
trials and dangers. This is exemplified in all the recorded 
experience of believers, especially in their death-bed scenes. 
Many, however, read, or hear of these things, with indiff'erence, 
or incredulity, regarding them as having more of mere excite- 
ment, or delusion, than of reality. This is especially so, 
when these scenes occur beyond the objects of their own soli- 
citude. But let such a scene be brought near, let the power 
of Christian faith be manifested in the last hours of one whom 
we tenderly love ; to whom we are bound by the strongest 
ties; in whose happiness we feel the deepest interest; let us 
witness, at the death-bed of such an one, the Christian's tri- 
umph over the last enemy, then that faith by which the vic- 
tory was achieved, becomes invested with a reality and im- 
portance far beyond all previous conception of it. Here we 
know was no deception. Nothing was assumed for efi'ect. 
All was known to be characterized by sincerity, and truth, 
and humility. 

In the providence of God, we are assembled to-day, under 
circumstances well adapted to produce feelings of deepest 
interest in whatever the Bible teaches concerning departed 
Christian friends. It has pleased our Father in Heaven, by a 
providential dispensation, very remarkable in some of its as- 
pects, to take from us one who was '■'■greatly beloved;" be- 
loved, not only by her family, now agonized with grief, but 
by our whole community, and by all, throughout our country, 
who had the privilege of knowing her. We are called to 



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mourning 



It is not meant by the Author of this affliction, 
that no urief should be felt, that no tears should be shed over 
such a loss as this. That she is happy, we feel the strongest 
assurance. But it is not consonant with the tenderness and 
sympathy of Christian hearts, that such a woman, wife and 
mother, such a daughter, and sister, and friend ; such an orna- 
ment of the church, and of society ; such a blessing to all 
around her, should be followed, unlamented, to the grave. 
That were impossible. In all the relations which she sus- 
tained the loss is great. It is irreparable. It will be felt 
long, and with an increasing sense of its greatness. 

This is, however, precisely such a case as is contemplated 
in the text. It speaks concerning "those who sleep in Jesus." 
This is fitting language to describe the case of our departed 
friend. She did not seem to die, but sweetly to fall asleep. 
It bids us not to sorrow for her, as those "who have no hope." 
We do not so sorrow. We cannot, with a knowledge of her 
faith, while living, and when dying. Our hearts are filled 
with sorrow, but hope concerning her sweetens it. There is 
no bitterness in it. It is, indeed, death ; but death without 
its sting. And, then, such a victory has been achieved by 
her faith in Christ ; such unspeakable and ever enduring good 
has been attained through grace, that on her account our emo- 
tions are those of joy and gratitude. "Thanks be unto God, 
who hath given Iter the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
The inspired Apostle says to us under these solemn circum- 
stances, "I would not have you to be ignorant concerning 
them which are asleep." His design is to prevent excessive 
sorrow under the loss of Christian friends. He adopts the 
most eifectual method of doing this. It is not by exhorting 
them to be submissive, and to strive to bear it with fortitude. 
He does not remind them that it was God who took away their 
friends ; although there is much comfort in knowing that 
"afflictions spring not out of the dust," but are sent in wis- 
dom and mercy "for our profit." He takes another course, 
better fitted to afford consolation. He would remove their 
ignorance — dispel the darkness that hangs gloomily over the 
state of the departed. Ignorance, or which amounts to the 



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same thing, a want of faith, is the source of much sorrow. 
The truth concerning those who are asleep, is of the most 
cheering character. 

I adopt, on this occasion, the language of the text. I 
would not have these mourning friends to be ignorant con- 
cerning her who is now asleep. She occupies our minds to- 
day. Her departure has turned our thoughts towards the 
bright and happy world to which she has gone, so as they 
have not been turned for a long time. We follow her with all 
our cherished affection for her, and with all our deep interest 
in her welfare. With these feelings, we may find an interest 
and consolation in truths concerning departed friends, which 
we could not under other circumstances. The hearts of her 
bereaved and sorrowing children, may be in a state to receive 
impressions from these truths, which shall never be effaced. 
How eagerly would they catch any intelligence concerning 
the mother, who now "sleeps in Jesus." If her attendant 
ano-els were permitted to announce, that her spirit had been 
carried by them to the Paradise of God, with what thrilling 
joy the tidings would be welcomed. I would not have them to 
be ignorant concerning her. We have the most authentic 
intelligence respecting believers in Christ, who leave this 
world. She was one of these. Our Saviour says to them, 
"in my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare 
a place for you. And I will come again, and receive you unto 
myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." "Father, 
I will that they, whom thou hast given me, be with me where 
I am, that they may behold my glory." This is enough to 
satisfy the first anxious inquiry that will spring up in the 
jnincl: — Where is she? We see her smiling face no more ; 
we behold not her graceful form; we no more hear her plea- 
sant voice. She is with Christ. That comprehends all good. 
" In his presence is fullness of joy ; at his right-hand there 
are pleasures for evermore." That is the consummation of 
happiness to which for many years she has been looking for- 
ward, and the thought and expectation of which had many a 
time filled her soul with heavenly peace. Christ has taken 
her to himself. Think of her as a glorified saint in Heaven. 

2 



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Another tiling concerning her, of which I would not have 
you ignorant, is this. When her spirit left the body, in that 
distant room, the consecrated scene of her last conflict; while 
friends were standing around in silent admiration at the tri- 
umph of her faith, it passed away immediately to heaven. 
"We naturally feel a strong desire to know the truth on this 
point. The Bible makes it plain. Our Saviour said to the 
dying penitent on the cross, " This day shalt thou be with me 
in Paradise." The martyr Stephen saw Jesus standing on 
the right hand of God, and he said, " Lord Jesus, receive my 
spirit." It is said of Lazarus, the beggar died, and was car- 
ried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. These declara- 
tions afford delightful assurance, that " to depart from the 
body is io be present with the Lord." 

There 'is another point to which the mind will turn with 
anxious inquiry — Do our' loved ones, when taken to heaven, 
continue to feel an interest in the welfare of those whom they 
leave behind? We cannot entertain a doubt respecting it. 
They who are left, are objects of God's love and care. The 
Saviour, bur pattern in all things, still ardently desires their 
salvation, and is ever interceding for them. Angels, we are 
taught, are employed as "ministering spirits to the heirs of 
salvation." " There is joy in the presence of the angels over 
one sinner that repenteth." All heaven is represented as 
feeling the strongest desires for the salvation of men. It 
cannot be that the " spirits of the just made perfect," have 
no fellowship with Christ, and with angels, in those desires 
for the salvation of sinners. Never does the Christian feel 
such deep solicitude for the eternal welfare of friends ; never 
does one manifest such intense love for souls, as when on the 
very verge of heaven. It is the spirit, the pure benevolence 
of heaven. Our deceased friend felt this intense desire in her 
last moments. As to herself, all was heavenly peace. But 
for the eternal welfare of her family and friends, her heart 
was full of the tenderest solicitude. For these dear objects 
of her affection, her last fervent prayer was offered, just -as 
her spirit took its flight to heaven. It was that they might 
be saved. And if the tidings shall ever be borne to that 



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19 



world, that these objects of her solicitude have repented and 
believed, she will feel a new thrill of joj. 

The death of the righteous, the departure of a redeemed 
and sanctified spirit from this world of conflict and trial, to 
the mansion of eternal rest, is an event full of interest and 
instruction. Had we the power of vision to survey all the 
events of this busy world ; to see all the achievements of in- 
tellect and virtue ; we would see nothing so sublime, so worthy 
of admiration, as the serene and peaceful death of an humble 
believer in Christ — the entrance of an immortal spirit into the 
eternal world with unshrinking and joyful confidence. We 
hear much of faith, but then we see it in its most exalted ex- 
ercise. To the eye of sense, all beyond the grave is impene- 
trable and appalling darkness. Reason discerns nothing 
there but indistinct and portentous shapes and shadows. 
Now to come to the confines of that unknown and awful 
world, with the calmness, not of insensibility, but of joyful 
confidence ; not only with no fear of danger, but with assur- 
ance of safety; to step thus off the earth into eternity, with 
no support that can be seen, is the greatest achievement 
which mortal eyes are ever permitted to witness. At such a 
time, a composure that results from ignorance, or delusion, or 
stupidity, is of no value. Some men have such mental energy 
and firmness, such native intrepidity, that they can meet real 
and great dangers, without alarm. They may encounter the 
terrors of death without the agitation of fear. But constitu- 
tional courage is not the cause of the Christian's tranquillity 
and firmness. He is sustained not by a courage that meets 
real dangers calmly, but by a faith that sees all real danger 
removed; not by a firmness that can encounter the deep dark 
waters of Jordan " overflowing all his banks," but by an un- 
shaken confidence that those waters are " made t« stand as 
a heap," and to open a passage to Canaan on dry ground. 
The dying Christian is serene and joyful, because there are 
no dangers. He is enlightened and intelligent. The mo- 
mentous consequences are clearly in view. He knows what 
sin is, what the law is, what eternity is, but he knows that 
Christ died to take from death its sting, and to deprive it of 



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all power to injure those who believe in him. " There is no 
condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." To meet 
death with this confidence in the merits of the Saviour's 
atonement; to feel that death is a conquered enemy; and with 
serenity and joyfulness, to take the decisive step into the 
realities of the invisible world, this is the great triumph of 
Christian faith. It is a victory which fills beholders with ex- 
ultation. It calls forth from angels shouts of gratulation and 
praise. It is our privilege to contemplate such a death, such 
a victory, to-day. ^ With such intelligent confidence and calm- 
ness, with such a Christian fearlessness of danger, with such 
assurance of safety and happiness, our friend and sister en- 
tered the eternal world. We should join with her sainted 
spirit, and with angels, in songs of praise to Him, by whose 
power and grace she conquered the king of terrors. 

If, however, we ^Yould derive from her peaceful death the 
instruction and benefit which it is fitted to aiford, we must 
take care to learn the ground and reason of that hope and 
confidence which even death could not shake. All must feel 
that such a hope and confidence are of inestimable value. If 
she had possessed some knowledge of the future world, which 
enabled her so cheerfully to enter it, we should regard the 
possession of that knowledge as more important than all 
our other attainments. And if it were to be announced now, 
for the first time, and if it could be appreciated and embraced 
by all, it would fill us with unutterable delight. But there is 
nothing new or extraordinary in this case. Our friend knew 
of no way to everlasting well-being beyond the grave, which 
is not made known to every traveler. She had no ground of 
hope, which is not free to all. She had only the hope and 
the confidence and peace which result from genuine faith in 
Christ. She had possessed that same faith for many years. 
Its influence had been manifested every day. She had real- 
ized its power and preciousness in many a season of trial be- 
fore the last. But its amazing importance to her, its mighty 
power to support the soul, was not fully perceived until it was 
■witnessed, in its highest exercise, in her last conflict. How 
fii'm,.thcn, was the ground of her trust. But what was it? 



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Nothing in herself. Self was renounced, and all her doings 
were put away, and the merit of Christ's sacrifice was alone 
the ground of her hope. Trusting there, resting on a foun- 
dation out of herself, she was calm, collected, joyful, tri- 
umphant, while flesh and heart failed. On this ground alone, 
all have conquered who have gone from earth to heaven. 

" I ask them, whence their victory came ? 
They, with united breath, 
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb, 
Their triumph to his death!" 

In order to comprehend the import of this victory over 
death, which Christians obtain by their faith in Christ, wc 
must understand what the Bible means by the term death. 
Many have very inadequate views of its meaning. The dis- 
solution of the body is a very small part of it. It is & much 
more comprehensive ruin than that. It extends its ravages 
to the immortal part. It includes all the evil that sin has 
brought on our race. The crumbling of the body into the 
dust does not deserve the name. That is but a dro}) in the 
vast ocean of evil. The blight and curse which sin has 
brought on the spiritual nature of man — that is death. It 
effaced the divine image, and shut the soul out from commu- 
nion with God, and from his favor, which is the only source 
of its happiness. Death is the entire penalty of the broken 
law; not the wise natural consequence of sin, but a judicial 
infliction. Into this state of death all men are born. We 
are dead in sin. "We are by nature children of wrath. 

The great object of our Saviour's coming into the world 
was, to deliver our souls and bodies from this death which fol- 
lows sin. He took upon him our nature, " that through death 
He might destroy him that had the power of death." He 
became our substitute under the law, and bore our sins in His 
own body on the tree. He satisfied the demands of law, and 
rendered it compatible with the Divine justice, to justify the 
uni'odly who believe in Jesus. He redeemed us from the 
curse, by being made a curse for us. Thus, by taking upon 
himself the penalty of sin, He robbed death of his sting. 



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The iniquity of us all was laid upon Him, and Avitli His stripes 
we are healed. 

He conquered death by taking away all the penal conse- 
quences of sin, and restoring those who trust in Him to the 
image and favor of God. They who are united to Him by 
faith, share in this deliverance from all the evils of sin. For 
them, death has no sting, and the law has no curse — for there 
is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. He 
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. This is the 
victory over death of which we have spoken, and which, Ave 
feel assured, God has given to our departed friend, through 
faith in Jesus Christ. Her spirit is now purified from every 
stain of sin, and is fitted for eternal intercourse with saints, 
and angels, and Christ, in heaven. 

It is not her spzVzY alone that partakes of this triumph 
over death. Her body, too, which we lay away in the grave 
to rest, is a part of the Redeemer's purchase. It shall not 
be lost. It has died, indeed, but only as a seed dies, to put 
on, at length, a more beautiful and glorious form. It is sown 
in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in 
dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown a natural body, 
it is raised a spiritual body. So, when this corruptible shall 
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on 
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is 
written, " Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, 
where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where is thy victory?" Be- 
lievers have the spirit of this triumphant song, when they 
come to die, but it will not be sung in its full meaning, until 
it bursts from the redeemed millions on the morning of the 
resurrection. How delightful the assurance we feel that our 
friend and sister will then have her glorious part in that tri- 
umph over death and the grave. " Them also which sleep 
in Jesus will God bring with him." 

Mrs. Henrietta M. DawsOxN had lived in this world just 
forty-eight years and six months, having been born October 
7th, 1801, and having died April 7th, 1850. She entered 
on the duties and responsibilities of married life January 28th, 
1819. About twenty-four years ago, she embraced religion. 



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•f) 



and joined the Presbyterian church, of which she continued a 
most beloved and useful member, until she was taken to the 
church triumphant. 

There are many things in the character of this lamented 
friend which it would be pleasant and profitable to notice. I 
can, however, only glance at some of them. I shall not utter 
the language of eulogy. The sincere affection which is so 
touchingly exhibited by all ; the deep sensations of sorrow 
which all feel for the loss we have sustained, constitute the 
best evidence of her great worth, and of the high estimation 
in which she was held. 

Now, it is a great thing for her to have lived almost half a 
century in one community, and to have performed the duties 
of the various relations which she sustained during that time 
in a manner most honorable to herself, and most useful to 
others; and to have been taken away, at last, from among 
the living, followed by the sincere love of all who knew her. 

It is worthy of record, and I state the fact for the special 
benefit of the young, that, according to the testimony of her 
pious and venerated mother, she never, in a single instance, 
disobeyed that parent, or went contrary to her wishes. This 
is probably owing, in part, to a very delicate sense of pro- 
priety which characterized h^r, and which gave a peculiar 
charm to her conduct in all her social intercourse. 

If we could look upon her once more as she was, all would 
be prompted to say, " Behold, an Israelite, indeed, in whom 
is no guile!" She exemplified, in a remarkable manner, the 
" charity that suffers long and is kind; that envieth not; that 
vaunteth not itself; that is not puffed up; that doth not be- 
have itself unseemly; that seeketh not her own ; that is not 
easily provoked; that thinketh no evil." There is one, all 
concur in saying, who loved everybody, and whom everybody 
loved. There is not a poor person, there is not a colored 
person, there is not a child, there is not a grown person, in 
this community, who does not feel that in her death he has 
lost a friend; one who took a kind interest in his welfare; 
and who was ever ready to sacrifice her own comfort to do 
others good. 



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Now to what are we to ascribe all this beauty and worth 
of character ? Not to mere natural amiableness and sweet- 
ness of disposition. These certainly exerted an important 
agency in the formation of her character, for she possessed 
them in an uncommon degree. But her virtues far surpassed 
the results of any degree of natural amiableness. They 
sprung from a higher source. It was the spirit of Christ 
dwelling in her, that produced those lovely fruits that 
adorned her life. Hers was the "ornament of a meek and 
quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." 
Her excellencies were Christian graces. They had their 
root and nurture in the Christian doctrines which she loved, 
and in her Christian faith. Without these she could not 
have been the wife and mother, the daughter and sister, and 
friend, that she was. It was not alone, a highly cultivated 
intellect, and refined social virtues that so charmed and at- 
tached to her all who knew her. There was above all these 
a devout, humble, penitent, self-denying, believing, devoted 
spirit. It bore her heavenward. It delighted in the worship 
of God ; in the service of Christ ; in diffusing happiness all 
around her. 

There was no new development of character on her dying 
bed ; there was only a more striking exhibition of that which 
the Spirit had been gradually forming, and maturing, and 
brightening. She had been a growing Christian. In look- 
ing back I see many things that indicate a spiritual influence 
on her heart preparing her for the event which was approach- 
ing. The National Capital with its crowds and gayety, would 
seem to be an unpropitious place for preparing the soul for 
heaven. But even there, the spirit of grace was with her. 
Her " affections Avere set on things above." One of her 
Christian friends says, " She and I have been together a 
great deal the past winter, and I know her chief thoughts 
seemed to centre on heavenly and divine things. She con- 
versed often and freely with me on the subject of religion. 
She always had great confidence in God." There was, there- 
fore, "no fearful surprise when the summons came. 

As she Avas sinking fast on that Sabbath morning, which 



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25 



was the commencement of her eternal Sabbath, a female 
Christian friend asked her " if she would like to have a por- 
tion of the Bible read ?" " Yes," she replied. The beau- 
tiful twenty-third Psalm was read and applied ; and one who 
was present says, " Ji5 seemed to comfort her." The Bible 
stands alone in this respect among others, it imparts solid 
comfort to the dying when all other measures fail. How re- 
freshing to her spirit were these words which her faith could 
appropriate. " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's 
sake. Yea, though I wal^ through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me ; thy rod 
and thy staff, they comfort me." 

The minister, whose preaching she was accustomed to at- 
tend when in Washington, visited her a few hours before she 
died. He asked her if there was any particular object for 
which she wished prayer to be offered ? She said, " Yes, 
my MOTHER, and family, and friends." It was like her to 
forget herself in her solicitude for others. The salvation of 
those dear objects of her affection was then the ardent desire 
of her heart. I suppose that was the last effort site ivas fer- 
mitted to make for them in this world. In this conversation 
with her, and it was the last, he says, " She expressed full 
confidence in her Saviour, and said she was perfectly recon- 
ciled to death." He says, ^^ Her faith and hope tvere clear; 
calm and cheerful she looked upon death coming.'' She took 
the promises as they stood, in their freeness and fullness ; 
and as they had never failed her in life, so she found them 
sufficient to support her in death. 

The closing scene was in perfect harmony with her whole 
Christian course. " The path of the just is as the shining 
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 
She was not a doubting, despairing Christian. With a deep 
sense of her unworthiness, and with a most cordial renuncia- 
tion of all self-righteousness, she lived under the habitual in- 
fluence of a strong confidence in her Saviour. Her anxiety 
for the conversion and salvation of the members of her 
family, was of a very intense character. This has made 



'%• 



26 

upon my mind the deepest impression. She did not unduly 
undervalue other objects of interest. As to wealth and 
honor, the position which she occupied, her associations, her 
experience enabled her to form an intelligent estimate of 
their value. She was not -indifferent in relation to them. 
But the concerns of religion, the well-being of undying souls 
ever appeared to her so transcendently important, that all 
other things were, in comparison, counted as the small dust 
of the balance. Her family will ever cherish a grateful re- 
membrance of this solicitude for them. 

This anxiety was manifested a little before her death, con- 
cerning one son, who was about to enter on a course of life 
in which he would be particularly exposed to temptation. 
The gentleman who heard her, in writing to this son, after 
her death, says — " Her anxiety was not that you might be 
in a place where you might probably succeed in obtaining 
the objects of this world's ambition and strife, but that you 
might not be thrown into such scenes and associations as 
would be inconsistent with the cultivation of those moral 
principles and precepts which are essential to true happiness, 
not only in this life, but in the life to come." May not this 
bereavement be the appointed means of accomplishing these 
desires of her heart ? It is wonderfully adapted to recall all 
her instructions and counsels, and to impress them indelibly 
on the heart. Will it not cause them all to strive to meet 
her in yonder bright world by imitating the example of her 
faith and piety ? 

When soon or late you reach that coast, 

O'er life's rough ocean driven ; 
May you rejoice, no wanderer lost, 

A FAMILY IN Heaven. 

There was through her whole course, a lovely exemplifica- 
tion of Christian consistency of deportment. She occupied a 
prominent position. She was called to move in the higher 
circles of society. She was brought into contact with the 
world of gayety and fashion, at those points where many un- 
stable professors of religion are drawn away from the paths 



«■ 



27 

of duty and propriety; yet it is a pleasure to record it of our 
departed friend, that she had the grace and firmness to main- 
tain, under all these circumstances, the dignity and deport- 
ment befitting a Christian woman. The cause of Christ, the 
honor of religion were objects dear to her heart. She loved 
the church. She rejoiced to share in its privileges, and she 
was ever ready to bear cheerfully her part of its burdens. 
The manner in which she ever sustained the hands, and en- 
couraged and cheered the heart of her pastor, by means 
which she knew so well how to employ, is now to him a mat- 
ter of most grateful 'remembrance. 

The Providence that took her from her own sweet and quiet 
home, from those familiar and loved scenes and objects, to die 
amid the agitations of our Capital, is worthy of special notice. 
He, without whom a sparrow does not fall to the ground, has 
done this, doubtless, to accomplish some purpose of his mercy. 
God ordered it so in wisdom and kindness. It seems to me 
that the tidings of her death, coming thus suddenly upon us, 
without a note of warning, were designed to startle us amid 
our unconcern about death and eternity. We had forgotten 
how uncertain life is. We were preparing to welcome her 
back with gladness, when lo ! she was taken to heaven. The 
very shock to our feelings is salutary. I think we all realize 
it to be so. It has recalled us to ourselves ; to the uncertain^ 
ties of temporal things ; to the importance of being, like her, 
prepared for 'eternity. The influence of this event extends 
far beyond the limits of our community. It pleased God, to 
choose that conspicuous theatre on which to exhibit this 
triumph of faith in a dying Christian. Such a scene is full 
of instruction. It is said of Addison, that he summoned a 
friend to his deatli-bed that he might see how a Christian 
can die. It was well. Our statesmen have been permitted 
to see how a Christian woman can die. How tranquilly she 
could take leave of the most loved objects on earth ; and with 
what serene and joyful confidence she could commit her re- 
deemed spirit into the hands of her Saviour. They were 
doubtless made wiser by it. They must have felt the empti- 
ness of the highest objects of earthly ambition, when com- 

(9.' ^ 



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28 

pared with the Christian's faith and hope in the hour of 
death. 

It is pleasant to see how the simplicity and beauty of her 
Christian example had impressed those who knew her there. 
It is said in one notice of her death ; " Seldom has it been 
our lot to record the death of one whose loss will be more 
severely felt by all who had the pleasure and privilege of her 
acquaintance. If gentleness of character, and a ' heart in 
which there was no guile,' if 'to do justice, love mercy, and 
walk humbly,' be evidences of a Christian life, and a pre- 
sage of ' sweet rest beyond the grave,' tlien we are fully con- 
scious ' our loss is her gain.' " 

We have opened to us the true source of consolation on 
this occasion. It is the great truth that, " He that believeth 
in the Son hath everlasting life." With the life and death of 
our dear departed friend and sister before us, to doubt her 
participation in this blessing, would be to question the truth 
of the Saviour's promises. Let us not sorrow, then, as those 
who have no hope. It is not to sorrow only or to sorrow 
chiefly, that we are called to-day ; but to gratitude and praise 
and thankssrivino; to Him who came into the world that avo 
might have life. Let us have faith. Christ does give, and 
will give, and is even now ready to give eternal life, to all 
who put their trust in Him. 

To all her surviving friends, there is an affecting demon- 
stration in her life and death, of the love a'nd power of 
Christ. He is able and willing to save. He does raise the 
believer's soul above the fear of death. He does give hea- 
venly peace and joy. Let it be our high aim to be followers 
of them, who through faith and patience nov.' inherit the 
promises. "Lot me die the death of the righteous." 

Blessing and honor, and glory and power be unto Him 
that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and 
ever. Amen. 



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The following remarks have been appended at the request 
of the afflicted husband of the deceased, by the Rev. E. Bal- 
lantine. 



The Providence of God ordered that Mrs. Dawson should 
spend her last days and close her life far from her home. 
This is a painful dispensation to which, as ordered by God, 
it becomes her bereaved friends to submit as she submitted. 
The society of her last months of health, the sad duties of 
friendship for the short week of her last sickness, and the 
solemn, instructive, interesting scenes of her death, shared 
by none of her family but her honored husband and a 
single child, were, with these exceptions, assigned to others 
less closely related to her. But these, whether they had had 
a longer or a shorter acquaintance, cherished for her an affec- 
tion and esteem which were growing to the last ; and when 
they were called to attend her to the gate of death they felt 
that they too were losing a dear friend ; and they shared in 
the bereavement which was crushing the spirit of the husband 
and the child, and which was so soon to bring the agony of 
grief upon the cheerful circle of her home. They would now 
express their tender sympathy with that afflicted domestic 
circle. They would say that one of the valued advantages 
of their own slighter relationship with the deceased, was that of 
seeing another Christian die. Her pastor has described very 
justly and very tenderly too, as feeling deeply the loss which 
he himself and his church have sustained, her last hours ; has 
told of her calm faith, her firm hope, and her tender concern 
for those whom she most loved. May the account instruct 
and comfort them ; but to see and hear it all was more in- 
structive, more comforting, illustrating as it did so strikingly 
the sustaining power of a gospel faith, the sanctifying efficacy 
of gospel grace. Deprived of the society and ordinances of 
her own church, Mrs. Dawson sought the acquaintance of the 
pastor, and attended the religious services of the First Pres- 
byterian Church in this city. The minister on whom thus 



t- 






30 ^ 

devolved the last pastoral services, rendered directly to one 
of Christ's loved ones, feels it proper to say that no one could 
present the facts relating to Mrs. Da^YSon's death in a juster 
or more interesting way, or more acceptably and impressively 
to all concerned, than her own pastor has done, who had 
known her so long, and who loved her so well. We can add 
nothing essential to the details given in the discourse. One 
remark, however, of the dying mother is not mentioned 
there. It was made in reference to the only child who was 
with her. "I trust," she said, "that she will yet be a Christian, 
fo7' Ihave a confidence that she prays.'" I know not which most 
to admire in that remark, the Christian affection or the Chris- 
tian wisdom. May the hope it expressed be realized in re- 
gard to all her family. 



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